‘Could not come at a worse time’: US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty expires

Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed a one-year extension to Washington, to which US President Donald Trump has not responded yet.

In January, Trump told the New York Times, “If it expires, it expires… We’ll just do a better agreement.”

The US President had earlier wanted to make a new deal that includes China. China refused to negotiate the new deal, saying it has far fewer nuclear weapons compared to the US and Russia.

Regarding the treaty expiration, the White House said, ‘Trump would clarify on his own timeline.’

UN chief on nuclear risk

While speaking about the dissolution of the treaty between the two countries, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “It could not come at a worse time – the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is the highest in decades.”

Guterres urged the two countries to continue negotiations to find “a successor framework that restores verifiable limits, reduces risks, and strengthens our common security”.

Counting the warheads

As of January 2025, Russia possesses a total of 5,459 nuclear warheads, while the US has 5,177 warheads, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Among treaty-bound US allies, France has around 290 and the United Kingdom about 225. China, which had earlier refused to negotiate with the US, has an estimate of 600 warheads.

Last New START extension

In 2021, during US President Joe Biden’s time in office, the treaty was extended for five years. Under the agreement, Moscow and Washington agreed to commit to deploying no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads, allowing 18 inspections of nuclear weapon sites, and limiting ballistic missile deployment to 800.

Being the two biggest nuclear powers, the US and Russia possess about 90 per cent of all the nuclear warheads in the world.